Bellator 244 results: Vadim Nemkov claims light heavyweight title with dominant TKO of Ryan Bader

That idea was squashed by Vadim Nemkov, who dominated Bader and scored a second-round TKO to become the new light heavyweight champion at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

It was an impressive outing from Nemkov, who put an end to Bader's undefeated streak in Bellator. 

The 28-year-old Russian sought to be the aggressor from the outset and force Bader to fight going backward. The plan worked early on as he demonstrated impressive speed and power that kept Bader from exploding with his big right hand. A hard combination early in the first round by Nemkov sent a message to Bader that what he was up against was unlike any of the heavyweights he had defeated in the heavyweight tournament. 

Noticing the speed advantage, Bader opted to nullify Nemkov's striking by taking his opponent down in the final minute. But Nemkov was able to stay out of trouble and get to his feet, which clearly discouraged Bader. 

A right hand stung Bader early in the second round, and Nemkov went on the attack. An inadvertent eye poke gave Bader a brief reprieve, but it didn't matter because Nemkov went right back on the assault and clobbered Bader with a head kick. Bader hit the canvas hard and found a charging Russian with bad intentions all over him. Nemkov unleashed a brutal barrage of strikes. 

The champion tried to survive, but the assault was simply too much as the fight was stopped at the 3:03 mark and a new champion was crowned. 

In the co-main event, former featherweight champion Julia Budd got back on track with a unanimous decision victory over Jessy Miele. 

Budd returned to the cage for the first time since losing her title to Cris Cyborg back in January to fight Miele, who was riding a four-fight winning streak. But Budd was simply too much for her opponent and used takedowns and top control to earn the victory. 

A big right hand from Budd briefly buckled Miele late in the first round, but it didn't take long for Budd to realize that bringing the fight to the canvas is where she would have a considerable advantage. Budd stuck a takedown the final seconds of both the first and second rounds before recognizing that she could make the fight a lot easier for herself in the last round.  

Aware that Miele was unable to stop the takedown, Budd dragged her down early into the third and began cinching in an arm triangle. Miele defended well and managed to survive the round, but it was all Budd when the scorecards were read 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27.